Ten for Tuesday

Ten Favorite Memories of Dad

I have few pictures of my father and me, but I do have some wonderful memories. Choosing ten and writing them down brought back a lot of warm remembering time. I wish every little girl could think of her father as I think of mine.

This is a picture of my father, Rulon Jones Callister, when he served in the army. I was born one year to the day after he was released from service.

Here are some of my memories:

1. Playing with Dad. This picture was on an earlier last post, but I wanted to repeat it again, because I love it! Dad was good to play with us when he could take time off from farming. He splashed us with the shovel when he was watering the lawn, he swung us high into the air with his arms, and we always knew we were safe when we were with him.

2. Dancing with Dad. We used to have ward "Gold and Green Balls," and the whole family was invited. My dad always danced with me. I fondly remember standing on his toes to dance because I didn't know the steps. Other times, he would teach me the steps. One of my favorite dances to do with him with the shottish. I haven't seen or heard of anyone doing it for decades.

3. Auctioneer. When I was young, our ward held ward dinners, followed by an auction, to raise money. I first remember raising money to help build our new chapel, and later to provide budget for the ward. My dad was usually the auctioneer. One time, I raised my hand, just like others were doing, to bid on something. My dad had to recognize my bid, even though he was unsure of what I was doing. There wasn't even time to get a nod from my mother. In the end, we went home with an item that "I" purchased, even though it wasn't something that either my mom or dady would have chosen.

4. Taking time for family vacations. My dad, a farmer, worked all summer long. It wasn't often that he took a day off for fun, but when his brother came from California to spend time with family in Idaho (my grandparents, an aunt's family, an uncle or two, and us), the farm was put on hold for a few days so we could enjoy extended family fun. The most memorable times, because everyone was invited, were the trips to Yellowstone Park. We stayed in cabins, picnicked during the day, and threw bread from the cars to feed the bears. It was a time of bonding for all the cousins, and we all love to reflect on these trips.

5. Fishing with Dad. I think I was about seven when I was first invited to go with Dad and the "boys" on opening day of fishing. On my first trip, Dad took me to a fishing hold and baited my hook. He handed me the pole and then turned to bait his own pole. Before he could finish, I had a fish on the end of my line. He helped me pull it in, and then rebaited my hook before turning back to his own pole. Again, I quickly caught a fish. Again, he helped me pull it in. This happened a third time, and then he taught me how to bait my own hook and pull in the fish so he could get some fishing done on his own.

6. Father's day recitation. Thanks to my mom's talents, and her teaching ability, I was chosen to recite poems at ward programs and during Sunday School at an early age. One Father's Day I was chosen to give a poem during Sunday School as part of the program. It was a poem on loving your dad, and the last line went, "Thank you for being my dad, and Happy Father's Day." My dad was the bishop at the time, so was sitting on the stand. My mom encouraged me to turn and say the last line directly to him. I did, and it brought tears to his eyes. Of course, that was a common occurrence for Dad, but this time it had special meaning to him and me, too.

7. Singing in Mutual. One mutual evening we had a program that included unrehearsed numbers. While some performers were alerted ahead of time, there was also a time when those in attendance could pick someone from the audience and ask them to perform. One of the ward members said he recalled a time years ago when my dad had sung a song in a church meeting, and he would like to hear him again. So, my dad, although nervous, stood and sang a hymn. He did a good job, too.

8. Letting me into ball games. My dad, along with being a farmer, also taught high school for most of my growing years. Part of his responsibilies included being at sports events to take tickets for the basketball and football games. When I was in junior high school, I sometimes wanted to go to the games, and he would let me in to watch the teams play without buying a ticket.

My dad loved sports. When he was in high school he played football, basketball, particpated in track, and boxed. The year he was a senior, he won a state championship in Golden Glove boxing. Here he is in a boxing stance:

He and his brothers were always quick to start a basketball game in the backyard. Their mother used to ask the boys to go get some wood for the stove, and they would challenge each other to a game of Twenty-one to see who did the chore. After a win, the loser would declare it had to be a two out of three win, then a three out of five, until my poor, hardworking grandmother would end up getting the wood herself.

There were six boys in the family, and they all played basketball in high school. The year the youngest was a senior, the high school gave my grandfather a season pass to all the basketball games, telling him that he deserved them after supplying so many players over the years.

Here is my dad with a basketball in the yard of the family home. Not having a concrete driveway, or wood floor, they played on the hard dirt in the yard:

9. Riding to school with Dad. I always rode the bus to school until I was a junior in high school. Then I started riding to school with Dad. We had some good visits in the car on the way. Later, I also rode home with him, too. One thing I enjoyed about riding home from school with Dad was that, while he was finishing up in his school room, I could go down to the gym and watch the boys practice basketball. One day he was ready to go before I returned to his home, so he went to the office and had me paged. "Anne Callister, your dad is ready to go home now." I wasn't really embarrassed, but I did make a bigger effort to be there when he was ready to go.

Here is a picture of my dad during his high school teaching days. I think it is a favorite picutre of many family members.

10. Visiting Nauvoo. In 1994, Wayne, Bryan, and I were making a trip to Nauvoo so that Wayne could deliver a van for the BYU Semester abroad program there. I thought it would be a great experience for my dad to visit the sites there, so I invited him to go with us. He agreed. Wayne and Bryan drove back and met Dad and me at the St. Louis airport. We drove to Nauvoo and had a rich experience visiting the sites there. Dad was excited to find the names of some of his ancestors at different sites and to know where some of them lived during the Nauvoo era, and was especially touched by our visit to Carthage and the jail there. Before our trip, ended, Donovan and his family, who were living in St. Louis at the time, came to join us.

Another highlight of our trip was the opportunity we had to do an endowment session in the temple. Here is Dad standing on the steps of the Nauvoo Temple.

There are a few favorite memories of my Dad. He's almost 92 now, and while his health is deteriorating, we are grateful for every day that he is still with us.